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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. lie — to recline
  3. field — for sport
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. pit — a hole
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. field — farmland
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. cap — a hat
  14. kick — in football
  15. ground — the earth
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. ground — crushed
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. field — a subject
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. cap — a lid
  22. pit — in a race
  23. cap — of ice
  24. ground — a position

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com